This unit is designed for sixth grade students and will serve approximately 50 students in three classes. The class will meet three times a week. I plan for the unit to cover about four weeks of class time or twelve, 50-minute class periods. The unit is designed to be multidisciplinary which will reenforce skills learned in math and ELA, however, the driving instruction will be based off the Connecticut Social Studies Framework: Human-Environment Interaction: Places, Regions, and Culture. This unit will help explain the connections between the physical and human characteristics of a region and the identity of individuals and cultures living there. Some of the student lead learning activities will be conducting a QFT, vocabulary, Cornell Note taking, games and mini projects. The teacher will guide students through using Google Earth to help identify their countries and what natural resources are available in that area. Within each lesson, students will be asked to connect the physical sciences to how they influence the culture in that area. To conclude the unit, the students will create a map of their country of choice which will and highlight it’s unique characteristics. Students will make connections between what resources are available in that area and what characteristics influence their culture.
(Developed for Social Studies, grade 6; recommended for Social Studies, grade 6)
